{"id":373936,"date":"2025-12-28T22:32:34","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T22:32:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/373936\/"},"modified":"2025-12-28T22:32:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T22:32:34","slug":"hogan-chatfield-making-a-name-for-himself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/373936\/","title":{"rendered":"Hogan: Chatfield Making a Name for Himself"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a trade that didn\u2019t have the same impact with fans as, say, the deal that brought Cameron Judge back to Toronto in exchange for Folarin Orimolade.<\/p>\n

On February 10, the Argonauts sent defensive back Craig James to Ottawa for Redblacks defensive lineman Andrew Chatfield Junior. James would be released by Ottawa on June 1, while Chatfield has exceeded virtually all expectations.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s currently tied for the CFL lead with three sacks and has become an integral part of a defensive group that has recorded seven sacks through three games. It\u2019s something that doesn\u2019t totally surprise the man who tipped off player personnel poohbahs Michael Clemons and John Murphy about Chatfield.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cYa, I told them about him,\u201d Argo defensive line coach Greg Marshall told Argonauts.ca with a smile.<\/p>\n

Marshall knew Chatfield from Ottawa, where last year he held the same coaching position he now holds in Toronto. He knew the Argos d-line was about to be hit hard in free agency and recommended the team give the Redblacks a call about Chatfield\u2019s availability.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just asked what his status was in Ottawa,\u201d Marshall explained. \u201cI knew it was going to be tough for him to make it with the guys they were signing and the guys they had coming back. I thought he could come in here and compete and have an opportunity to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far, so good. Chatfield has a sack in each game and is third on the team with 11 tackles. He\u2019s thrilled to be reunited with Marshall in Toronto, and not just because they\u2019re both products of Oregon State.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a position coach he\u2019s really great,\u201d Chatfield told Argonauts.ca. \u201cHe\u2019s really helped me with a lot of things that have improved my game. I\u2019m getting better and better with each game. I\u2019m coming along with the playbook. He\u2019s just always there for me and he\u2019s been a huge help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did the Oregon State connection help Marshall with his decision to endorse Chatfield?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t hurt,\u201d Marshall said, again smiling broadly.<\/p>\n

Chatfield was named All-State twice while playing at American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida. He\u2019d play 23 games for the Florida Gators before leaving the state and playing an equal number of games for the Beavers, where he racked up 10.5 sacks and a dozen tackles for loss before heading north.<\/p>\n

He thinks his skillset is perfectly suited for the three-down game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can see that in the CFL that pass rushing is a huge need,\u201d said Chatfield. \u201cWe need to get people off the field after second down, so I can see why that is one of the most important things. I feel that\u2019s where I can fit because I know I\u2019m a good pass rusher, I know that\u2019s where my strength is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Marshall concurs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like his athleticism; I like his enthusiasm,\u201d said the coach. \u201cYou could tell he\u2019s a guy that liked playing the game. He\u2019s a prototypical rush end for the CFL.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is Marshall surprised his prot\u00e9g\u00e9 is off to such a quick start?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes and no,\u201d he admitted. \u201cYou\u2019re not sure what you\u2019re going to get with a first-year guy. He played one game last year, but it was all on special teams, so this is really his first time playing on defence. Like most young guys there\u2019s been some really good plays, there\u2019s been a few that I\u2019m sure he\u2019d like to have back. It\u2019s a learning process but he\u2019s been very productive so far and we hope it continues.\u201d<\/p>\n

The relationship between coach and player is a strong one. There\u2019s also a lot of credibility when Marshall speaks because of how good he was as a player. After beginning his career in the NFL, he headed north where he played defensive end for the Ottawa Rough Riders for nine seasons. He won the CFL\u2019s Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award in 1983, was a four-time all-star, and a couple of years ago was honoured with a spot on the RNation Legacy Wall.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not lost on Chatfield.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a legend in Ottawa,\u201d said the player of the coach. \u201cJust watching some of his tape I could see that he was very elusive, very fast, could get to the ball; he was really that guy. I can respect his game, and I like listening to him because he played the game, so he knows. It\u2019s a little different when the coach played in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall finished his career with 71 sacks. When asked if he thought he could lead the league in sacks, Chatfield\u2019s answer was quick and matter of fact.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really care about that. I really care about us winning.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a trade that didn\u2019t have the same impact with fans as, say, the deal that brought…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373937,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-373936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}